Few people these days understand Leviticus. It's not a simple list of laws. It's a spiritual contract between a god and a group of people. Follow the rules to the letter and the god will bless you with prosperity and glory in battle. Fail to do so and the god promises to visit you with plagues and scatter you to the winds.
The rules include all these laws about cleanliness, but more important are the sacrifice of animal flesh and blood, and the celebration of the high holy days.
And it has no meaning or relevance outside the context of the temple or tabernacle - which long ago were swept away by the hands of history.
and the death of Jesus, as from what I remember he was supposed to replace the animal sacrifices or something which sort of removes one of the main functions of the tabernacle which makes the rules of Leviticus mere suggestions.
That could explain why Martin Luther is clean shaven in many of his portraits and American christians need to leave homosexuals be...
Another thing few people know is that in the early books of the old testament monotheism is not in play. It's pretty clear when you read it that they believed in multiple Gods, but the Jews were meant to only worship Yahweh, from there it turned to monotheism. I recommend Karen Armstrong's A History of God if you are interested.
I've read Karen Armstrong. I've actually been logically deconstructing the Bible, verse by verse on my LJ. I started the project last summer after reading a book that made the point that the Bible is too important a cultural document to be left solely in the hands of religionists.
What I've discovered is that the Bible is much more fascinating than I ever imagined.
If you would like to follow along, the entries are all tagged.
They're chronological, so you have to go back several pages to get to Genesis 1. I manage a verse or two a week. I use the ESV, with the KJV on the side, with Strong's concordance for the ancient Hebrew.
I miss lobster. I am okay with most of the laws of kashrut but the prohibition on shellfish makes me mopey and causes me to constantly ask my rabbi why God made shrimp with convenient handles for dipping if He didn't want me to eat them.
Yeah but that icon doesn't make a lick of sense to me. Those things aren't all abominations; they're all prohibited in Leviticus but they're not all ceremonial cleanliness issues, which are what get translated into English as "abominations".
But they weren't taught that way at the time, just that food was 'unclean,'; and what would be wrong with lobster today? I mean I know they're sea roaches, but THEY'RE TASTY SEA ROACHES :)
In the viewpoint of a people almost utterly without science? Dood, she's BLEEDING.
It isn't going to make sense today, which is why most Jews who aren't very conservative ignore many of the rules now. After all, how can you have egg-rolls and almond shrimp at Christmas if you're that devout?
sure. The point is, when you have to enforce health and safety rules on a population with little to no education, they almost have to come from a religious standpoint. Look at how our most uneducated republican congresspeople like to ignore scientists on things like global climate change. You can bet your ass if Jesus had said "give a hoot, don't pollute", conservation would be a tea-party tenet.
No, when the nerdy educated jews figured out that you can get trichinosis from pork, and it's smart to cover your head when you work in the sun all day, and boys who are circumcised tend to get fewer infections and STDs, you gotta get the jocks to listen to you somehow. It's the ultimate appeal to authority, because you also have to add in the "I am God, and if you don't listen to me, you're fucked" parts.
Or as the early church understood it ;) Kosher laws were done away with really by Paul and he fought intensely with Peter and James and John about requiring new converts to Judaism (as they understood it) to keep the kosher laws.
That point being: People using Leviticus' injunction against homosexuality as justification for their own bigotry are cherry-picking hypocrites unless they follow all of its rules.
But please, don't let facts get in the way of your persecution fap.
I know a few Christians who think homosexuality is wrong, yet nobody I know thinks you could be damned for it. The only path to hell is not accepting Jesus as one's Lord and Savior.
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The rules include all these laws about cleanliness, but more important are the sacrifice of animal flesh and blood, and the celebration of the high holy days.
And it has no meaning or relevance outside the context of the temple or tabernacle - which long ago were swept away by the hands of history.
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That could explain why Martin Luther is clean shaven in many of his portraits and American christians need to leave homosexuals be...
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What I've discovered is that the Bible is much more fascinating than I ever imagined.
If you would like to follow along, the entries are all tagged.
http://artkouros.livejournal.com/tag/the%20adventures%20of%20holly%20bibble
They're chronological, so you have to go back several pages to get to Genesis 1. I manage a verse or two a week. I use the ESV, with the KJV on the side, with Strong's concordance for the ancient Hebrew.
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He has badass hair!
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It isn't going to make sense today, which is why most Jews who aren't very conservative ignore many of the rules now. After all, how can you have egg-rolls and almond shrimp at Christmas if you're that devout?
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No, when the nerdy educated jews figured out that you can get trichinosis from pork, and it's smart to cover your head when you work in the sun all day, and boys who are circumcised tend to get fewer infections and STDs, you gotta get the jocks to listen to you somehow. It's the ultimate appeal to authority, because you also have to add in the "I am God, and if you don't listen to me, you're fucked" parts.
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Really?
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Those are the new commandments. The old laws were rejected by JC.
Christians and their loopholes.
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It's actually an attack on Jews, as the only real requirement to be a Christian is to accept Jesus as one's Lord and Savior.
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As usual, you completely miss the point.
People using Leviticus' injunction against homosexuality as justification for their own bigotry are cherry-picking hypocrites unless they follow all of its rules.
But please, don't let facts get in the way of your persecution fap.
Preach brother squidboi!
Re: As usual, you completely miss the point.
Re: As usual, you completely miss the point.
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